Lecture to tackle ideas on social equality

Some will be scared. Some will be offended. But Brandon Wilson believes all cultures and ethnicities will benefit if they "step out of their box."\nWilson, a speaker for the Southern Poverty Law Center, will present "Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus" at 7 p.m. tonight at the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union. \n"We are thrilled to have someone from the Southern Poverty Law Center here to do this nationally recognized program," said Eric Love, IU's director of diversity education. \nTen Ways to Fight Hate on Campus, a program founded by Wilson, will focus on changing university administrators' and students' thoughts about social equality.\n"Sometimes you have to uproot people who benefit from social injustice from their comfort zones," Wilson said. \nHe said it is scary for his audiences to hear the truth about a variety of social issues, from race relations to sexual preference.\n"I think that every person has the ability to do good and the ability to show respect," he said. "Any person can be the victim of oppression. The challenge is getting all people to realize they sit in seats of privilege sometimes. Then, people become more apt to work with one another."\nFounded in 1971, the SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights firm centered in Montgomery, Ala. \nA graduate of Auburn University, Wilson was working in student affairs at his alma mater when a photograph of white students with their faces painted black and others dressed in Ku Klux Klan garb motivated him to take action. His work led to the creation of the Center for Diversity and Race Relations at Auburn in 2002.\nSince then, Wilson's work prompted the building of resource centers at the University of Alabama and Idaho State University and a $1.5 million financial aid initiative at the California Institute of the Arts.\nHe also lobbied the NCAA to ban Native American mascots, which has been a controversial move for the athletics association.\n"I never thought about the reaction more than I thought about what was morally right to do," he said. "I think offense happens and conflict happens, but I think it's good."\nThe event is sponsored by the Commission on Multicultural Understanding, the Office of Diversity Education and the Union Board.\n"(Wilson's) background, his experience, his enthusiasm and his commitment make this one of the best events of the year," Love said. "I encourage everyone -- faculty, staff, students, administrators -- to come to 'Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus.'"\nImmediately following the speech, a leadership and diversity information fair will be held in State Room East at the IMU.